Overwhelmed
by Ahai
Summary: This week has been so stressful for China. What is it going to be like for him in the end?


This week has been like hell for China. Taking care of all those little nations could be too much and way to stressing. Of course China loved them all and wouldn't give any of them for many millions but there were times they could take away all his energy and make him use some energy he didn't even have left. In the beginning of the week Japan got sick with a fever so China got a little extra besides taking care of the other four little nations, doing the chores in the big house, doing work that had to be done by him as a nation. Cooking, cleaning, go to meetings, nursing and more. Two days later Korea got sick as well, very sick. China had to take him to the hospital as Koreas fever rose to 40 degrees. He rarely had anyone to look after the others, so China had to take all of the children with him to the hospital, even the sick Japan.

"

So on that day on the way to the hospital China carried Korea in one arm and Japan in the other as he let Taiwan, Hong Kong and Vietnam walk in front of him so it would be easier for him to keep an eye on them. China had no hands to grab them with if they tried to run away, so he could only give them a push or stop them with his foot. The children viewed this as being kicked and they started crying. China was unable to comfort them physically hence having his hands full; all he could use was his mouth to explain. The children weren't used to not being held or hugged when they cried so they called China the worst big brother.

"

Luckily for China the way to the hospital weren't that far, only a 10 minutes trip. But with this situation going on with the others, it almost took him an hour to arrive. As he finally arrived to the hospital he immediately handed Korea over to the doctor, Japan as well since he already was with China anyway. The doctor said both of them would be alright, but Korea was close to some life threatening disease. As China told the doctor Korea got this fever a bit over an hour ago, the doctor scolded him for being irresponsible and told he should have brought Korea to the hospital earlier. Two days later Japan and Korea got out of the hospital and was home again with China and the other children. Japans fever was gone now, Korea still had his but it was only 38 degrees now, so it would be no problem for him to be home as long as he got much rest.

"

One evening at the last day of the week as all the children were sleeping, China made himself a cup of tea and sat outside to look at the moon. By having two sick children, he himself got a hint of the sickness. China had no fever but his nose was stuffy, his throat was a little bit sore and he had a slight headache. China felt completely exhausted and wanted to sleep so badly, but he had to drink the tea in order to loosen up his sinuses so he could breathe easier. He really should go to bed as early as he could since he didn't get much sleep this week because of puking from either Japan or Korea in the middle of the night. If they didn't puke, they were simply in pain and needed medicine. China put his hand to his chin and the elbow to his leg. China felt a bit warm, whether it was because of stress or he was getting a fever, he didn't know. He didn't care as well, sick or not, rest was something China would rarely get. China felt something tug on his sleeve. As he turned his head he saw Japan standing next to him. Why was Japan here? Why didn't he sleep?

"Nii-chan… I can't sleep" Japan said.

China guessed Japan wasn't well again after all and he woke up from sickness pains. After hearing what Japan said, China couldn't take it anymore. He put both his hands to his face, bent down his head and started crying. China felt like a sinking boat, but instead of water coming in by the leak, the water came out of the leak, drowning him with stress. Japan widened his eyes at what he saw. Japan had never seen his big brother cry, not even when he got burned while cooking or if he simply just slipped. Japan looked at China, scared and insecure. What was he going to do?

"Nii-chan…" Japan said carefully, placing his tiny hands on Chinas shoulder.

"Oh no…Sorry, I am sorry aru!" China said as he dried his tears, even though new tears came afterwards.

"What is the matter?" Japan asked.

"Gege feels stressed, he is crying so he can feel better" China said.

China felt guilty for crying in front of Japan. He didn't want Japan to think it was his fault. It was just so hard to do all this alone without help from anyone. No one could predict illness, or whatever the population of China was doing. Despite it all, China would sometimes have a lot of work, sometimes too much work. Japan climbed on Chinas lap and put his arms around Chinas neck, hugging him.

"A hug will make it all better" Japan said.

China felt a little spark of relief enter him. Feeling Japans little warm, chubby arms around his neck was comforting. China put his arms around Japan and hugged him tightly as he cried his heart out. He hugged Japan like how a little child hugged its teddy bear. China was sobbing as quietly as possible, which resulted to increased shaking and more flowing tears. He cried and held Japan for a little while till he finally let go of Japan. The crying helped China a lot, both for the mentality and his cold, the sinuses were more open now.

"Do you feel better, nii-chan?" Japan asked timidly.

"Much better, aru" China said and petted Japans head.

Now that Chinas business was taken care off, he then remembered something.

"Why are you up, Japan? Do you still feel sick? Do you have any aches?"

"No, I can't sleep because I feel so lonely after this long time being in bed all the time while I was sick and the night makes it scarier to be lonely. Can I sleep with you?" Japan looked down as he asked the question.

China got up with a smile and picked Japan up.

"Certainly, aru!" China gave Japan a kiss on the cheek as he walked towards his room with Japan in his arms.

"

This was probably the first time for a while China finally had a good night. Having Japan in his bed felt cozy. The night got better as the other children came to his room and wanted to sleep with him. Korea came as well when he found out the others went to China. Korea was very cuddly and tired and stuck to Chinas chest like a baby koala stuck to its mothers back. All the children fell asleep right away and didn't do any bothered sleep movements. In the state of tranquility, China fell into deep sleep. The night made him remember raising the children was more than stress, it had its wonderful moments as well.


End file.
